


Value

by autobotscoutriella



Series: Purimgifts: ATLA/LOK [3]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Collection: Purimgifts Day 3, Cultural Customs, Gen, Northern Water Tribe, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-01
Updated: 2020-03-01
Packaged: 2021-02-28 05:33:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22978429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/autobotscoutriella/pseuds/autobotscoutriella
Summary: Yugoda has found value and agency in her role as a healer in the Northern Water Tribe, but passing that on to her students isn't always easy.
Series: Purimgifts: ATLA/LOK [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1668616
Comments: 6
Kudos: 22
Collections: Purimgifts 2020





	Value

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ambyr](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ambyr/gifts).



“Focus on the water. Feel how its energy flows with the tides,” Yugoda instructed, drawing a spiral of water into the air above her own hands as she did. “Not too much, now. You don’t need an entire tidal wave.”

A _splash_ echoed through the room, breaking the peaceful atmosphere of the healing hut. Yugoda turned to see one of her youngest students, kneeling empty-handed at the corner of the pool and staring sullenly at the water.

 _Oh dear._ Kalla was brilliant, waterbending coming to her as naturally as breathing. Yugoda knew she hadn’t dropped the water by accident. This conversation had been coming for some time now, marked by increasing sighs and irritation; Kalla wasn’t particularly subtle about her feelings.

But the middle of class was not the right time to address it, so Yugoda continued with her lesson. Kalla resumed participating, though her bending involved far more splashing than usual. Yugoda tactfully ignored it. Highlighting the girl’s frustration in front of her peers would only add to it, and she had learned long ago that no student responded well to public admonishment.

But at the end of class, when most of her students had filed out and gone their separate ways, she said quietly, “Kalla, stay a moment, please.”

Kalla stopped halfway to the door and sighed. “Look, I promise I’ll do better tomorrow.”

“I know, dear. You’re not in trouble.” Yugoda waited for the last few students to leave, then sat down at the edge of the pool and gestured for Kalla to join her. “Something is bothering you, isn’t it?”

Kalla stared at her hands. In the pool, water swirled and splashed just a little too deliberately to be the sole product of the tides. “You’re always telling us to do _less._ No tidal waves. Slow down. Less water.”

“Yes, I am.” Yugoda tilted her head until she made eye contact with her student. “Why does that trouble you?”

“Because _everyone_ says that!” A wave launched across the pool and splashed hard against the other side, sending water spraying across the wall. Kalla flung her hands up in frustration. “Because _everything_ is like that. Slow down. Do less. I’m _strong!_ I’m a good waterbender. I could be a _great_ one and I know it. I could _fight._ But I’m not _allowed_ to, just because I’m a girl. It’s not fair!”

Yugoda had planned out what she was going to say, but in the face of the girl’s frustration, the words fell away. She found herself remembering an old friend, a voice she hadn’t heard in decades saying nearly the same words.

_It’s not fair!_

“No, it isn’t,” she answered gently. Kalla looked up at her with wide, startled eyes. “You’re right. But it is what it is. You and I can acknowledge that it isn’t fair, but we can’t force things to be different.” Before the girl could protest, Yugoda went on, drawing water from the pool and holding it in a small swirl just above her palm.

“Being a healer does not mean you can’t be a great waterbender, child. It only means you use your waterbending a different way. Should you be the one to make that choice? Perhaps, but our traditions are what they are, and you and I cannot change them. But that doesn’t mean you should be weak.”

“It _does_ , though.” Kalla crossed her arms over her chest.

“Do you know why I tell you _less_ and _no tidal waves_?” Yugoda asked, watching her student’s face. Kalla maintained her mutinous glare as she answered.

“Because we’re not supposed to be _powerful._ We’re supposed to be healers.”

“Incorrect,” Yugoda answered. “Healers need to be strong too, child. Do you think it’s easy to treat wounded men for hours on end, sometimes days, while a war rages around you? Water may be in short supply, and the wounds in need of healing serious, and still we must try to save them. Do you think a weak waterbender could save the lives of both mother and child during a difficult birth, or fight back an illness working its way through the tribe? One day you may be called on to do any one of those things, or all of them, and then your strength will be an asset.”

Kalla didn’t respond, looking down at her hands again, so Yugoda continued. “Today, we practice on a small scale, because a healer must be precise. Too much power will harm your patient rather than help them. But I don’t want to limit you—not at all. One day, you will learn to use your bending on a much greater scale, and when you have mastered both precision and power, you will be a great waterbender. But first, you must learn. _That_ is why I teach you what I do.”

She reached out and took Kalla’s hand. “I know that it’s hard to have your path in life chosen for you, and to feel that you have no say in it. But believe me when I tell you that being a healer does not make you weaker, or lesser. It is a different path than that of a warrior, but it is no less important, and I know that one day you will be one of the greatest.”

Kalla’s hand closed tightly around Yugoda’s. “You mean that, Master?”

“Of course I do, child.” Yugoda drew her in for a brief hug. “Your strength is not a flaw. The Water Tribe values it, and you—as do I. Now go on. Your mother will be wondering why I’ve kept you so long.”

After Kalla bowed quickly and dashed out the door, Yugoda found herself gazing off at the distant line of the sea and wondering what would be different, if she had found the same encouragement for her best friend.

_It’s not fair._

“No, it wasn’t,” she said softly, speaking to herself as much as to the memory. “But you were still valued, and you are still missed.”


End file.
